1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to shoe upper forming machines, and more particularly, to adjustable wiper mechanisms for performing lasting on the forepart region of a shoe being lasted therewith.
2. Prior Art
In the manufacture of a shoe, a leather upper is placed on a last, and an insole is also secured to the last. The last is suitably arranged in a lasting machine where the upper is pulled tightly over the last after cement has been applied around the periphery of the insole. A pair of wipers slidably arranged on the lasting machine may then be caused to move towards the toe of the last to wipe the edge of the upper over the periphery of the insole. The inward wiping of the upper is a significant element in the manufacture of a shoe. It is important that wipers adapted to engage the forepart region of a shoe upper be properly oriented to effect simultaneous wiping thereof at all points along both sides of the forepart of that shoe. The wipers should conform generally to the shape of the last around the entire forepart of the shoe and be moved inwardly over the shoe bottom substantially at right angles to the edge of the insole. However, conventional wipers for a given shoe style are profiled to a compromise forepart or toe shape based on the midsize shoe selected from an entire run of sizes, and in most cases, the one set of wipers is used to wipe the entire run of sizes. When the toe shapes are assymetrical, usually individualized left and right wipers are required for wiping in the lasting machine. The expense of manufacturing, storage, setup and maintenance of all these types of wipers is burdensome. The wiper arrangements themselves can become involved, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,196,470 and 3,222,703.
It is an object of the present invention to provide single wiper pair arrangement adaptable to existing shoe lasting machines, where the wipers are capable of wiping any size or shape forepart of any shoe with minimum time and expense consumed with regard thereto.